Budget debate: Akoto Osei slams Speaker over gagging order

The Member of Parliament for Old Tafo, Dr. Anthony Akoto Osei, has criticised the speaker’s directive that members should not interrupt debates on the 2015 budget statement but rather channel their concerns through their leadership.

According to Dr Osei, the directive could compromise the quality of contributions from members on the debate for next year’s fiscal policy of the government.

He charged the speaker to allow back benchers to raise points of order during leadership’s debate on the 2015 Budget.

“This is the House of debates but now our capacity to debate has been arrested by this arrangement...what is the point in coming here and getting up to debate and you have to channel it through the leadership.

“I think speakership must think about this arrangement, we are here to debate not to debate through our leaders...it is not interesting,” Dr Osei fumed.

Dr. Osei added that the directive does not enhance debate on the floor of Ghana’s Law House.